Benefits of a Detailed and Comprehensive Power of Attorney
When is the last time that you or the people you loved updated your Power of Attorney? It is easy to overlook. The powers that may be needed have changed over time with changes in law and in technology, not to mention the changes...
Back to school? COVID and your college kid.
As we think about back to school this year, some of us have sent young adults away to college. Some of us are hosting them in our dining rooms for virtual schooling. It is no secret that college aged people often feel invincible and might not consider the...
Supreme Court Case Could Impact LGBTQ Adoption, But Estate Planning Offers Alternate Options
A case on the Supreme Court’s docket for October could have a major impact on the parental rights of same-gender couples seeking to adopt or foster children. In February, the high court agreed to hear Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, which deals with whether...
What the Netflix Series Tiger King Can Teach You About Estate Planning – Part 2
Anyone who has seen the hit Netflix documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness can attest that it’s one of the most outlandish stories to come out in a year full of outlandish stories. And while Tiger King’s sordid tale of big cats, murder-for-hire, polygamy,...
What the Netflix Series Tiger King Can Teach You About Estate Planning – Part 1
Anyone who has seen the hit Netflix documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness can attest that it’s one of the most outlandish stories to come out in a year full of outlandish stories. And while Tiger King’s sordid tale of big cats, murder-for-hire, polygamy,...
How to Avoid the Need For a Prenuptial Agreement — Part 1
If you’re counting down the days to your wedding, divorce is probably the last thing you and your fiancé want to be thinking about, and yet you might be rightfully concerned about what would happen to your assets in the event of a divorce—or your death. You may also...
A Tragic Oversight: Kobe Bryant’s Youngest Daughter Mistakenly Left Out of Family Trust
In January, we reported how the deaths of NBA legend Kobe Bryant (Kobe) and his 13-year-old daughter, Brianna, in a helicopter crash demonstrated the vital need for estate planning for people of all ages. At the time, little was known about the planning strategies...
Your “Blended” Family Is Likely Headed to Court Unless You Do This
If you have a blended family and do not plan for what happens to your assets in the event of your incapacity or eventual death, you are almost certainly guaranteeing hurt feelings, conflict, and maybe even a long, drawn out court battle. So let’s start with clarity...
How Do Trusts Help You Save on Taxes?
Many people come to us curious (or confused) about trusts and taxes. So today’s article is going to sort it out and clarify things for you. There are two types of trusts, and each have different tax consequences. Revocable trusts, which are the far more commonly used...
Is It Time to Go Solo(preneur)?
There’s nothing like a major change in the economic climate to make you rethink your day job. “Business as usual” currently means a large element of uncertainty about what the future holds for your working life. Whether you've lost your job, had your hours cut, or...
Learning to Flourish, Even in a Financial Crisis
Maybe you, like many of us, have been raised to think that the safest way to live in the working world is to have a good career and a steady paycheck. This financial crisis is challenging that framework for many people. Even if you had a steady job, and even if you...
The Basics of Disability Insurance and How It Can Help During COVID
With the risks still posed by COVID-19, we all need to face the possibility that we could get sick, even if we take great care of ourselves through good nutrition, sleep, and exercise. And even if you don’t need to be hospitalized, if you do experience symptoms and...
Who Would Care For Your Children If You Got Sick With COVID-19?
The pandemic is causing us to consider a lot of things that we may not have before, even if maybe we should have. It brings to mind something a colleague of mine shared recently. One unremarkable weekend, she left her small children with a babysitter and headed out to...
3 Unique Ways to Handle the Guilt Inherent to Being a Parent
If you’re a parent, you may feel even more guilty than usual. If so, you are definitely not alone. Currently, the burden is on you to both carry on with your work and manage your child’s full-time care and education. Two full-time jobs that you’re trying to do by...
Getting Legal Documents Signed During COVID — Another Reason to Not Go It Alone
Wills, trusts, health care directives, powers of attorney, and legal guardian nominations are on many of our hearts and minds as COVID-19 compels us to face our own fragility and mortality. It’s not as if we didn’t know we would all die (or become incapacitated) one...
Protecting Your Parents From Undue Influence During Covid and Beyond
Today, we want to focus on one of the major risks of not being “in the know” when it comes to your parents’ estate planning matters: the undue influence of bad actors. It’s an unfortunate fact that predators emerge during times of upheaval to take advantage of people....
Should You (or Your Parents) Be in the Stock Market Now?
If you or your parents have a retirement account, (or any investment accounts for that matter) now is the time to get connected to how those accounts are invested. While you may have outsourced all of this to a broker in the past, you can no longer afford to allow...
Online Wills? When You Should, When You Shouldn’t and Where to Do It
With all of the media about “digital wills” and “online estate planning” it could be tempting to think you can do your estate planning yourself, online. And, maybe you can. But, if you do, you need to know the potential pitfalls. Online estate planning could be a big...
How To Get Access to Your COVID Stimulus Money
It’s the beginning of the month, and bills are coming due. If you are stressed out, it’s important that you know where and how to get access to financial relief. Please consider this not only for yourself, but for your adult children and elderly parents, too, even if...
The Most Important Legal and Financial Actions To Take Right Now
As you already know, the COVID-19 pandemic means nothing is business as usual. Many states have implemented a “shelter-in-place” order to limit the spread of the disease; however, if you are not in a place with such an order, or if your parents are not following it,...